John Aberdeen

I’m a female, albino, partially sighted, stubborn fiddle playing Orthodox Jew who lives on a native rez in Arizona and has a knack for world travel. Good luck. Posts usually about Judaism, LGBT activism, comedy, racism, or feminism. Sometimes I can get into a good discussion on politics too.

[johnaberdeen]

Do you ever look back on your childhood and think, "Wow. I was a weird kid."

[mishpacha]

China’s Search for the Secrets of Jewish Success

During my first trip to China in the summer of 1985, I visited English Corner in People’s Park in Shanghai one Sunday afternoon. It’s one of the places where young Chinese people used to practice their English with visiting foreigners. Officials from the university where I was teaching in Shangh...

The article talks about myths about Jewish people in China.  Although I do not have any experience in China, I do have experience in Central and East Africa and I can say that this ‘mysticism’ about us Jewish people is very common there as well.  It’s what I like to call ‘friendly antisemitism’ because, firstly, it is generally done out of ignorance (how likely are you to meet a Jewish person in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania?) and, secondly, because its meant as an admiration of us Jewish people.  

However, this very easily leads to a fetishization of us which, while meant as a positive, can easily turn into a negative when paired with the right ideology.  For example, you can believe that Jewish people are great in business and, thus, control a significant portion of the world’s wealth (which is false, I know, but bear with me).  However, if you are opposed to business or opposed to globalization, suddenly Jewish people are using all this power (which they don’t really have) for nefarious ends.  There are reasons why Jewish people have been as successful as we have.  For one, education is very important in our community.  For two, historically we have used our existence as a diasporic people to our advantage by focusing on trade and craftsmenship. What did NOT make us so successful was any inherent gene that made us good with negotiations or made us able to handle money.  

Viewing Jewish people through that lens denies us of our agency to build and achieve what we have.  It treats us like we’re objects, not real human beings.  Thus its our responsibility to fight this fetishism whenever we see it and absolutely never encourage it, even if we do believe it to be positive.

[antisemisogyny321]

I don’t like how the article minimizes the small but present actual Chinese Jewish community, but yes, this is an important thing to talk about. Sometimes with other forms of bigotry this is referred to as “benevolent _”

[chiribomb-deactivated20220820]

There’s…trans soldiers in the IDF?

I’m so MAD at AMERICA right now get with the TIMES

[pioaren-deactivated20201106]

Dude. The american army fixed the thing a couple months ago. You just can’t transition while enlisted

[chiribomb-deactivated20220820]

WHAAAAAT

[leave-it-to-becca]

Carrie Fisher owns Twitter every single day.

[tikkunolamorgtfo]

JGP: Jewish Galactic Princess

[butch-king-frankenstein]

My favorite thing about Thomas the Tank Engine is that it canonically takes place in a train post-apocalypse where the Island of Sodor is the only safe zone in a totalitarian dystopia in which steam trains are routinely killed and their body parts are sold or cannibalized for repair

If you think I’m kidding you need to read the original books

[co-rp]

could you please direct me to a source? i would feel much better if this was validated.

[butch-king-frankenstein]

It took me so long to find this quote online but I did it because it’s so much darker than one might expect from Thomas the Tank Engine:

“…Engines on the Other Railway aren’t safe now. Their controllers are cruel. They don’t like engines any more. They put them on cold damp sidings, and then,” Percy nearly sobbed, “they…they c-c-cut them up.” -”The Bluebells of England.”  Stepney the Bluebell Engine.  Rev. Awdry, Wilbert.  London: Egmont Publishing, 1963.

This illustration, by Gunvor and Peter Edwards, accompanied the above text in the original book, and depicts a pair of unfortunate Other Railway engines moments before being disassembled with a blowtorch.

[nightjarring]

HOLY FUCK LOOK AT THE ONE IN THE BACKGROUND THEY TOOK ITS FUCKING FACE OMG

[butch-king-frankenstein]

[zidane-xv]

the early thomas the tank engine books are pretty standard stuff. saccharine bubblegum type stories and illustrations. if you watched the show, it’s like that in book form. the second half of the railway series are so fucking dark and surreal i’m convinced they were a result of reverend wilbur awdry doing copious amounts of lsd and having hallucinations of his own death.

[butch-king-frankenstein]

Excuse me but the very first story in the Railway Series is about an engine who hides in a tunnel and refuses to run because he doesn’t want to get his paint job ruined in the rain, so railway management seals off the tunnel.

They eventually let him out because another engine breaks down or something, but the original plan was to just leave him in there forever.

[shulamithbond]

On the show, didn’t they also hook up one engine to a generator, so he’d never move again? That was literally one of the lines, I think. It’s on some other post on here. It was chilling.

[butch-king-frankenstein]

Yes!  This also happened in the books, to an engine referred to only as “No. 2″, but the television series applied the same scenario to an invented character named “Smudger”, in the episode “Granpuff”.

“Smudger,” said Duke. “Was a show-off. He rode roughly and often came off the rails. I warned him to be careful, but he took no notice.” “Listen, Dukie” he snared. “Who worries about a few spills?” “We do here! I said, but Smudger just laughed.” “Hahaha!” “Until one day, Manager said he was going to make him useful at last. Smudger stopped laughing then!” “W-w-why? What did he do?!” “He turned him into a generator. He’s still there behind our shed. He’ll never move again.”

[deducecanoe-deactivated20161213]

This is so fucked up

[unclewhisky-deactivated20150726]

No, listen.

Okay, so we see Railway Management doing all this shit, right, but supposedly it’s so much worse in the Other Railways? I mean, sure, you might get turned into a generator or bricked into a tunnel for not doing as you’re told, but at least you’re not cut up and sold for parts, right? It’s not so bad on the island of Sodor, right?

Or maybe that’s just what Railway Management wants the engines to think.

Maybe the island of Sodor is the real totalitarian regime, and the engine citizens (slaves) are fed propaganda, illustrated in hellish grays and sulfuric yellows, about how bad it is everywhere else, at all the Other Railways.

You are lucky to be an engine of Sodor.

Railway Management cares about you.

Trust Railway Management.

Stay on Your Track.

It Could Be So Much Worse.

[coralineandthesapphicfantastic]

Wtf the fuck is this train based 1984 bullshit

[revengeofthemudbutt-deactivated]

Good GOD.

[azriona]

Omg

[johnaberdeen]

While I was having a fit and needed to arrange something I came across some really weird journals (not that big of a surprise, you'd understand if you knew my family). I opened one and right of the bat it was like BOOM! Depressing poems and BOOM! Family crest like what the heck? XD I had one of my friends Google the Latin written in it even, it was strange.

[grimelords]

it’s weird that netflix used to be about mailing DVDs back and forth so you could watch movies. that seems like something people in the 1800s would do. “Jeremiah the mail-carrier died of smallpox so I’m afraid there’ll be no Wild Hogs 2 this winter.”

[johnaberdeen]

I used to think we were so cool, having a mail DVD service instead of having to go to the store to rent them.

[snekromancy]

Get to know me

Tagged by: @spacesnek​

Name: Rowan

Nickname: Uhhh… I don’t have one now that I think about it…

Star Sign: Libra

Gender: Agender

Height: 5′3″

Favorite Color: Red

What Color are my Eyes?: Looks like someone took tiny paint grenades of green, grey, brown, and electric blue to my irises.

Average Hours of Sleep: 4-6

Lucky Number: 7

Do you have any Tattoos: I wish.

Do you have any Pets: One “mini” dachshund, a ball python, and some fish.

Left Handed or Right?: Right

Last thing I googled?: “White lipped pythons”

Number of Blankets?: Two right now. 

Favorite Food?: Redvines

Make/Model of your Phone?: Hah, what phone?

Favorite Holiday?: Yule

Favorite book?: Dragonoak: The Complete History of Kastelir

Favorite Band?: D.R.U.G.S. (It’s an acronym don’t judge me just yet.)

When did you create your blog?: Very recently actually… not sure exactly when right off.

Follower Count?: 30

What do you post?: Reptiles

Do you have any other blogs?: Yep.

When did your blog reach it’s “peak”?: Not even close to it…hopefully.

Who is your most active follower?: @mylittlelevi64

What made you decide to get a Tumblr?: About a year ago, I kept seeing random little things that came off the sight and decided to get one.

Why did you choose your url?: Oh my gods @thatcertainshadeofpurple has corrupted my mind with puns. I have a character who is a necromancer so it was a 2Am thought on snakes and necromancy. 

Tag at least 5 people!: @mylittlelevi64 @johnaberdeen @thatcertainshadeofpurple @one-geck-to-rule-us-all @pastrygeckos Just tagging the three people I know and two others I see commonly on my dashboard. 

[johnaberdeen]

Tagged by @snekromancy Name: Emuna Nickname: Angie Star Sign: Virgo Gender: Female Height: 5'8" Favorite Color: Either Purple or Gray Eye Color: Blue-Gray Average Hours of Sleep: 10 Lucky Number: 11 or 8 Tattoos: None Pets: 1 German shepherd, 2 standard dachshunds, a desert tortoise, and fish. Left or Right Handed: Right Last thing I Googled: "Parenting conditional love" Number of Blankets: One Favorite Food: IS COFFEE A FOOD?!!! Phone: iPhone 4S Favorite Holiday: Purim Favorite Book: The Maze Runner #ICried4Newt Favorite Band: Well I'm Jewish boy band trash, so the Maccabeats but if you want goyishe music then... System of a Down. When Did You Create your Blog: Idk, August or September??? Follower Count: 122 What Do You Post: Jewish things, comedy, social justice stuff, personal stories. Do you have any other blogs: Yep. When did you blog reach its "peak": October/November Most active follower: @snekromancy Tagging: @bi-meme @jewishpokemontrainer @bostonjew22 @maris-rose @adrivenleaflet

[nyctosaurid]

We teach kids to fear animals like rats, snakes, spiders, etc. that are harmless 99% of the time but do we ever warn them about the real danger

[clinties-deactivated20140712]

WHY DOES IT HAVE TEETH ON ITS TONGUE

[nyctosaurid]

I am a gooseologist and I can tell you that geese live on a healthy diet of children’s souls which can only be properly chewed with unholy tongue teeth

[johnaberdeen]

Me: Low-key Jewish

*Antisemitism*

Me: Hardcore in your face Jewish

[allisonunsupervised]

Probably it’s not worth losing my job over this stupid standardized test, but I am super tempted to teach the word clusterfuck so the kids have the precise English vocabulary to describe this newly online assessment that determines our official progress as teacher and students.

[hithertokt]

I have never used the word clusterfuck more than since I began teaching.

[mishpacha]

Powerful: Oregon Militiamen Upload Video of Themselves Blowing "Battle Trumpets" (?)

You may know the shofar as a musical instrument of Jewish antiquity, traditionally blown in synagogues during Rosh Hashanah—but did you know that right now, in the frozen hinterland of the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon militiamen are blowing the HORNS OF FREEDOM as we speak?

Or that time the Oregon Miltiamen rebel group culturally appropriated Judaism for NO DESCRIBABLE REASON.

Seriously, what the fuck is this?

[goldhornsandsteel]

fuckers are 8 months early

[twodotsknowwhy]

Interesting to note though that while goyim are quick to point out all other forms of appropriation, I have not seen a single non-Jewish blog mention this. Hmmm

[stupidjewishwhiteboy]

I saw a reblog that quotes from a New York Magazine article that says this obviously shows that they are Christian Zionists. *headdesk*

[keyblack-hl]

so apparently there’s been a mini drama going on in the fine arts building

[micma]

i can’t wait for someone to move the couch again so they can see the final signs that contain my unbridled rage

[keyblack-hl]

THIS IS YOU????

[micma]

THIS IS ME AND IM PISSED

[schraubd]

LGBT Conference: Hearing from LGBT Jews Would Be Too "Divisive", Not "Safe"

The National LGBTQ Task Force canceled an event from its “Creating Change” conference, apparently due to the host groups’ ties to Israel. The event, which would have been on Friday, featured A Wider Bridge, a  group that seeks to present the stories of queer Israelis to the North American American LGBTQ community, and Jerusalem Open House, a prominent Israeli LGBT advocacy and activist organization. While initial reports cited “safety” concerns as the rationale, there were no reports of any incipient violence. A statement from National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey confirmed that the cancellation was instead due to the “divisive” nature of hearing Jews and Israelis speak about their experiences:

“Last week, we decided to cancel a Friday night reception at the Creating Change Conference entitled ‘Beyond the Bridge.’ We cancelled the reception when it became clear to us it would be intensely divisive rather than the community-building, social atmosphere which is the norm for Friday night at the conference. While we welcome robust discourse and political action, given the complexity and deep passions on all sides, we concluded the event wouldn’t be productive or meet the stated goals of its organizers. We also have the overarching responsibility to ensure that Creating Change is a safe space for attendees. Since the cancellation, we have been accused of being many things including being anti-Jewish, or anti-Semitic — which are wrong and deeply painful to those of us in the National LGBTQ Task Force family. We believe in the self-determination of all people, no matter where they call home, the right of LGBTQ people to live in peace and safety, and in constructive dialogue that moves the work for social justice forward. We are an organization dedicated to LGBTQ freedom, justice and equality for all.”

The cancellation is particularly painful given Jerusalem Open House’s efforts to recover from the horrific stabbing attack perpetuated by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist at the Jerusalem gay pride parade. That attack deeply traumatized the gay rights community in Israel, and one of the goals of international conferences like these is to let vulnerable queer communities know that the rest of the world has their back. But, of course, Jews can never count on the rest of the world to have our backs, or fronts, or sides. It’s a very “divisive” thing to do, after all. To be most generous to the conference organizers, one suspects that they knew that various anti-Israel radicals would try to disrupt the event, knew that they would not be able to stop them, and knew that this occurrence would distract from the “community-building, social atmosphere” image the conference wanted to display. But let’s be clear: that rationale is a tacit acknowledgement of just how deep that prejudice runs. It is a capitulation; an admission that they don’t have the resources to tackle it and so certain LGBT persons are outside its protective purview. I also have to note how, as is so frequently the case, the bald rejection of being labeled “anti-Semitic” is not coupled with any argument why (let alone any consideration of the possibility their interlocutors have a point). Indeed, while they transition straight into universal formulations of their organizational values, they can’t spare a word to confirm that they apply to Jews specifically. Do Jews have the right to “self-determination” (do they count as a “people”? It’s hardly a closed question). Do they think Jews have the right to organize social justice oriented dialogue on their own terms (evidently not). Perhaps they think it is self-evident that refusing to even listen to Jewish and Israeli LGBT voices describe their own experiences is not anti-Semitic. It doesn’t seem self-evident to me, nor to the prominent voices in that community who have blasted the decision. But as is too frequently the case, the spectre of anti-Semitism doesn’t prompt introspection, only defensive complaints of how “hurtful” it is. Finally, the invocation of “safe space” here finely demonstrates my intuition that this concept is a check Jews are not entitled to cash. Here, “safety” is being deployed as a weapon; as a narrative tool to cast Jewish and Israeli groups as inherently putting the lives of others at risk. Jews are hardly the only minority group whose mere presence is taken by some to constitute a threat. When the National LGBTQ Task Force endorses that narrative, it is inscribing violence, not combating it. The event will be hosted instead at a hotel across the street from the main conference venue. One hopes that the publicity, at least, will give them more attendees. But one also hopes that the remaining participants in the conference will take their owns steps to ensure that LGBT spaces are open to the voices of all. via The Debate Link http://ift.tt/1PCOsJz

[schraubd]

UPDATE: The Task Force has now reversed its decision and reinvited A Wider Bridge. Kudos.

[shoutingjar]

Good to hear.

[westsemiteblues]

“It hurts us so much to be called anti-Semites, which is obviously not true, and is super hurtful.”

[jumblrgirl]

“My feelings are hurt” is the new way to do something prejudicial and not get called out on it

[jewishowl]

You know, I can deal with people saying Israel shouldn’t exist. I don’t agree, but I think there are productive discussions to be had regarding Israel’s continued existence as it currently stands. What I cannot fucking stand, however, is when people attempt to back up their claims to Israel’s illegitimacy by saying things like, “Israelis have no culture lol they just steal everything” like…do you really need to resort to trashing the individual diasporic cultures that Jews brought with them to Israel to make your point? How is this not antisemitic? There were Jewish people in Palestine for generations prior to the formation of Israel. So, really all I hear when people say Israelis have no culture is basically just, “let’s mock Jews because they’ve been forced out of almost every country they’ve tried to live in and as a result their culture isn’t cohesive enough for me to take it seriously lol.”

[mishpacha]

You are absolutely understanding this argument correctly; and it’s not half-assed at all but there is a very deliberate violence behind it.  First, our existence is reduced for being ‘European’ (namingly Russian, Ukrainian, or Polish) and thus we are ‘otherized’ and showed that we do not belong in the Middle East at all (also see settler-colonialist).  This, in turn, tends to erase the violence against us in Europe that caused us to become stateless in the first place.  It also tends to accompany the “Jews were fine in the Middle East before Israel” myth which in turn erases more violence, of MENA goyim against their respective Jewish populations.  When accompanied by a denial that Israel should exist at all, it betrays what these goyim really want to do to us Jews should they ever be in a position of power to dictate our existence.  

Do not trust them.

[johnaberdeen]

Caught my dad watching Soul Eater and he was just like, "JohnAberdeen you have OCD right, like this Kid child???? IS THIS HOW YOU FUNCTION?" Like he was so concerned, lol bless his heart.

[keyshosh]

The beis din finally got back to me with a date but my rabbi can’t make it then. Lol. HaShem. Nu? Why?